The move rocked Dongli, and the state was in awe. From cultivators to ordinary folks, all lives looked slack-jawed at the taiji diagram whose duochromatic shine chilled their spines and overturned their beliefs. Only now did the audience understand why the White Immortal sect's elders seemed so serene, why the Nascent Soul predecessors refused to leave their caves and meet the enemy, why in spite of all the means they put forth, the momentum refused to shift in the invader's favor. Indeed, with the leaders to oversee the situation, even without the sect's defensive formation, they had nothing to fear.
'Impressive.' Even Xinzi, a treasured scion of the almighty Hengye clan, had to admit that for a Yanzhou sect to produce Nascent Soul realm experts with such battle-prowess was nothing short of a miracle. And this was only with the fifth-level of the Yin-Yang Sword Array. If Guang Fanghu and Zi Yao could cultivate this technique all the way to the ninth level, how overwhelming would their strength become?
Of course, that was easier said than done. In the Yin-Yang Array's 1,000 years of history, no one—not even the creators, had managed to cultivate it to the sixth level, to say nothing of the peak. The reason was simple: before climbing each stage of that cultivation method, the dual cultivating pair had to not only break through the corresponding levels of the Nine Paths of Yin and Yang, but also use that mysterious technique to develop their own secret skill. As if that wasn't enough, compatibility levels also increased or reduced the dual cultivators' chance to make further breakthroughs.
In ages past, the Snow Empress, Xue Lin, comprehended the Extreme Yin Transformation from the Nine Paths of Yin and Yang. Qiu Meng, creator of the Nine Paths, had produced his own skills as well. The Zi clan's ancestor derived the Yin-Yang Sword Array and fulfilled all of the requirements, but his partner didn't. Zi Yao had comprehended the Withered Wood Ecstasy, but refused to cultivate it due to obvious reasons. Any cultivator that attempted to reach the peak of these Yin-Yang techniques, would first have to establish their own comprehension of the Nine Paths. Alas, Qiu Meng himself aside, they had virtually no control of the skill they developed.
That said, with a Divine Soul to rely on, and Lianism to reinforce his clarity, Xinzi didn't believe that these rules would apply to him as well. At the very least, he should be able to control his enlightenment process, and derive the unique ability that he'd been craving ever since he discovered the Nine Paths of Yin and Yang. That ability was of paramount importance in Xinzi's plan to get rid of the Eternal Night's shadow. The thought of being so close to this critical step made the monk's eyes flash with a variety of emotions, and his heart skipped a beat.
Meanwhile, as the audience marveled at the sect masters' display, three massive cranes flapped their wings in the distance, raising wild gusts of wind as they blitzed through the air, leading their esteemed patriarch to the battlefield—or at least, that was the original plan.
"Huh? Where are my troops…" poor Lord Soaring Crane had barely arrived on the scene that he noticed the drizzling debris left behind by the three Spiritual Arks' destruction. With their fall, the Dark Moon cult would experience crushing setbacks, the Flower Plucking gang would vanish from history. As for the Soaring Crane mountain…well, if they played their cards well, they could still play the circus apes for more eminent factions. So big was Soaring Crane's stupor that his brain refused to process reality. Thus, for a second, the shriveled patriarch blinked absentmindedly at the debris, wondering when his troops would appear to clear up this farce. They wouldn't return. Instead, the hysterical voices of Soaring Crane mountain elders rumbled within Lord Soaring Crane's mind, forcing him to confront reality.
'Patriarch! Patriarch! What is going on? The Life Plate hall is in shambles! The 6,000 experts we've dispatched for the Dark Moon cult's assaults seem to be…all dead! At the Foundation Building stage or above, we barely have anything left! Patriarch, please confirm the situation! Patriarch! Patriarch!'
The words forced Lord Soaring Crane out of his reverie. His eyes lowered towards the Spirit Extinguishing Bead, and as he considered that perhaps, just perhaps, they'd been playing in the enemy's hand from the get-go, he shivered uncontrollably.
'No. This was precisely the worst-case scenario that we prepared the beast tide for. By now the beasts should be mauling their way through Dongli. With all the rank five Beast Kings leading them, there's still room for maneuv…'
'Patriarch! Patriarch! Terrible news! The beast tide just stopped! Not a single one of the mysterious beasts we led towards Dongli has passed the border! Worse, they're retreating already! Despite the formation still operating perfectly, our connection to the beasts has been severed! It's incomprehensible! There's nothing we can do! Patriarch, what should we do? Give us your orders!'
"Oh, son of a bitch." Beside himself with grief, Lord Soaring Crane let out the only curse in his last 300 years of existence. By now, the White Immortal sect members and audience had noticed Soaring Crane's presence. But instead of being awed by a Spiritual Lord's aggressive entrance, from Qi Refinement to the top, all stared at him with a mixture of amusement and scorn, as if the preeminent buffoon of a neighboring village had come to provide them with no end of burlesque plays.
'Activate the defensive formation, activate our distress signal, and keep pressing the ten-tailed White Fox! If push comes to shove, that person will once more prevent our destruction. I'm on my way.'
Red with shame, Lord Soaring Crane ordered and turned heels—eager to get lost. It was not that he feared a direct confrontation. No, with his Spirit Extinguishing Bead, he still had hope to deal the enemy significant damage. However, having realized that the hunter had long turned into prey, Soaring Crane knew that if he let fury control his actions and delayed his return any longer—regardless of the confrontation's return, there might not be any Soaring Crane mountain left for him to direct.
Alas, barely had the old patriarch turned heels that waves of purple sand cascaded down the sky, trapping him in an enclosing sandstorm that pressured his cultivation base relentlessly. The three cranes under the patriarch's command spread their wings. Tyrannical squalls of wind charged the enclosing storm of purple sand, yet failed to open the tiniest gap in the airtight formation. Try as they might, the cranes couldn't blow out a path for their master's retreat. "Who?!" Soaring Crane barked, spreading his Spiritual Sense to spot the experts casting this sealing formation from the shadows. Alas, their cloaking skills outmatched his detection abilities, preventing him from even catching the tiniest glimpse of their auras.
Simultaneously, nine taiji diagrams shot out of the most secluded reaches of the White Immortal sect—bolting across the air to appear above the sandstorm. The nine diagrams, each a manifestation of a pair of Yin-Yang Sword Array cultivators, circled Soaring Crane like orbiting celestial bodies. For the first time since the invasion started, the White Immortal sect's Nascent Soul elders made their move, pairing with Zi Yao's Purple Veils to leave Soaring Crane no hope to escape.
At that time, Lord Hanxing appeared above the 12 diagrams, staring at Lord Soaring Crane with a triumphant smile. "Li Jing, oh Li Jing. Just when I was starting to think that I'd have to let you live the remainder of your miserable days in peace, you did everything in your power to help me terminate the nuisance that is your Soaring Crane mountain. Tell me, old cousin, how should I thank you?" Lord Hanxing said, and his voice broke into a loud, cheerful laugh.
